Thursday, August 22, 2019

1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

Earn one continuing education hour with this free webinar. To earn CE credit, attendees must view at least 50 minutes of the webinar, complete an online, post-event evaluation and download their own CE certificate. Participants must register and sign in to the live webinar using the same email address.

Treatment of Dementia-Related Behaviors

Featured VITAS Expert

Joseph Shega, MD

Senior Vice President, National Medical Director, VITAS Healthcare

Joseph Shega, MD, joined VITAS Healthcare in 2013 as medical director, but he has been caring for, studying and teaching about geriatric patients and end-of-life care since 1999. He came to VITAS with a mission: to improve access to hospice services for underserved populations.

“That includes not only ethnic minorities,” he says, “but patients not traditionally served by hospice who would benefit from it, like end-stage renal disease patients receiving dialysis, heart failure patients receiving inotropic support and advanced cancer patients with conflicting goals.”

In addition, Dr. Shega’s focus is on the care transition to hospice and palliative care as a way to meet the goals of all stakeholders. “Patients benefit from a better quality of life, improved symptom management and an opportunity to age in place.” Dr. Shega explains. “Hospitals garner improvements in quality metrics, including decreased ED wait times via increased throughput, along with a reduction in hospital readmissions.”

As a regional medical director for VITAS programs in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, Dr. Shega oversees the medical care and treatment of VITAS patients in their homes, nursing homes, assisted living communities, personal care homes and inpatient units, supervising and working closely with the VITAS physicians in those programs.

He is board certified in geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine. He chairs the Ethics Committee for the American Geriatrics Society and serves on the Quality Committee for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Prior to joining VITAS, Dr. Shega was an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago in geriatrics and palliative medicine. He worked as a primary care physician for 13 years on Chicago’s South Side, providing inpatient geriatric and palliative medicine consults, inpatient palliative care, nursing home care, outpatient geriatrics, home visits and hospice services. He also evaluated and managed patients with memory disorders from diagnosis to the end of life.

Dr. Shega completed medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago, residency in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a geriatrics fellowship at University of Chicago. The father of twins, Dr. Shega enjoys spending time with family, playing tennis, swimming and running.

VITAS Continuing Education Details

VITAS Healthcare programs in California/Connecticut/Delaware/Illinois/Northern Virginia/Ohio/Pennsylvania/Washington DC/Wisconsin are provided CE credit for their Social Workers through VITAS Healthcare Corporation, provider #1222, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. VITAS Healthcare maintains responsibility for the program. ASWB Approval Period: (06/06/18 - 06/06/21). Social Workers participating in this course will receive 1 clinical continuing education clock hour.

To request accommodations for disability (ADA), contact webinars@vitas.com prior to the course event. All requests should be granted per VITAS, state and federal ADA requirements.

If you have a complaint or grievance regarding the VITAS continuing education process, email: Tammy.Quinn@vitas.com.

This activity is approved for one continuing education credit hour for all nurses (in California, registered nurses only), social workers and certified case managers. Florida-licensed nursing home administrators may also receive one hour of continuing education credit.